JOSEF NEWGARDEN CLINCHES DOMINATING VICTORY AT IOWA SPEEDWAY

– After finishing second the last two years at Iowa Speedway, Josef Newgarden was more than ready to move to the top step of the podium. He did so today in dominant fashion, leading 282 of 300 laps en route to his first win of 2016.

– Newgarden started the Iowa Corn 300 from the outside of the front row, next to Verizon IndyCar Series points leader Simon Pagenaud. Newgarden went to the outside of Pagenaud on Lap 1, taking the lead and never looking back.

– Teammate and team owner Ed Carpenter started the race from the 7th position on the inside of Row 4. He requested a front wing adjustment during his first pit stop and was then able to run consistently in 7th. After routine pit stop on Lap 119, he was unable to get the car into gear when exiting the pit box. The No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka crew changed the entire gear stack and Carpenter was able to continue. He finished 18th.

– Newgarden’s 282 laps led are the most ever by a driver in an Indy car race, surpassing the 250 by Ryan Hunter-Reay when he led every lap to win at Milwaukee in 2004. Newgarden only gave up the lead during green flag pit stops, but quick work in the pits by the No. 21 Fuzzy’s Vodka crew kept him at the sharp end of the field.

– Only 28 days ago, Newgarden was injured in an accident at the suspended Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. He drove today’s race with a surgically repaired right clavicle and a broken bone in his right hand.

– Newgarden’s win was the 3rd of his Verizon IndyCar Series career. It is the 7th victory for Ed Carpenter Racing since its formation in 2012.

– Newgarden gained two positions in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings and now sits second with six races remaining this season.

– Ed Carpenter Racing heads to Toronto next weekend to defend their back-to-back wins at the Honda Indy Toronto. Mike Conway won for the team in 2014 while Newgarden led teammate Luca Filippi to the team’s first 1-2 finish. The Honda Indy Toronto will be broadcast live on CNBC at 2:30 p.m. ET.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET, IOWA CORN 300 WINNER: “Man, it’s hard to not get emotional after these things! What a great car! Fuzzy’s Vodka…they enable us to do what we are doing here. i have a great team with Ed Carpenter Racing and a great team owner in Ed Carpenter. This was the best car I’ve ever had. I am so happy for my team and for my owner – he is a good dude. He takes good care of me. I’m just happy, this is so cool! Thanks to everyone in Iowa. I love this place and I love coming to Iowa. Love the fans here. Love running Indy cars around this place. I hope we come back here for many, many years.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 18TH: “It was a great day for the team. We tested here last week, we knew we had really strong race cars. Josef drove excellent, especially with the conditions of his hand hurting. I really felt like one of us would win and there was a really good chance both of us would be here (on the podium). Didn’t know we would have quite the dominant day that Josef had, but we needed to get back in victory lane for the team, for Chevrolet. It’s good to contribute some points for Josef and the No. 21 entry. Second in points right now, so we are in a really good position there. We just have to keep doing the same thing we are doing, and keep rounding into form. Hopefully next race we will have two of them on the podium.”